Charles E. Lomax, 1924-2009: Longtime lawyer for Don King

Charles E. Lomax, boxing promoter Don King's longtime lawyer, was the first African-American partner at the venerable Sidley Austin law firm in Chicago.

Mr. Lomax, 85, who also counted Muhammad Ali among his clients, died Sunday, Sept. 20, in a hospice in Boca Raton, Fla., after a two-year bout with pancreatic cancer, said Alan Hopper of Don King Productions. Mr. Lomax, general counsel of Don King Productions since 1992, lived in Boca Raton.

A graduate of Howard University's law school, Mr. Lomax went to work with the Internal Revenue Service in 1952 and rose to become the agency's Chicago regional counsel.

He joined Sidley, whose roots date to 1866, in March 1975. In addition to being Sidley's first black partner at a time when there were few if any black partners at any major law firm in the city, it was exceedingly rare for any lawyer to join a firm at such a senior level.

"He had a very strong reputation with the IRS. That type of skill set is very hard to find," said Chuck Douglas, who joined Sidley shortly before Mr. Lomax and is now chairman of the firm's management committee.

A specialist in tax and entertainment law, Mr. Lomax represented both Ali and his manager, Herbert Muhammad. He kept pairs of Ali's boxing gloves and shoes on the wall of his office at Sidley.

He later brought in as a client King and his often complex tax and legal issues.

"He empowered me to fight the system from inside the system," King said in a statement. "He was a confidant who stood by me for 30 years."

Through King, Mr. Lomax worked out the legal details of Michael Jackson's endorsement deal with Pepsi-Cola in the early 1980s. When Jackson's Victory tour swung through Chicago, several young Sidley lawyers, including Douglas, were in the front row.

"Charlie was a bundle of personality," Douglas said. "His good humor, wit and grace really made him a fun person to work with."

Mr. Lomax remained at Sidley until about 1991 and then joined Boca Raton-based Don King Productions as general counsel and one of King's closest advisers.

Mr. Lomax grew up in North Carolina. Both of his parents had died of tuberculosis by the time he was 8, and he was raised by an older sister. The valedictorian of his high school class, he started college at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte.

He fought as an infantryman with the Army in Europe during World War II. With the help of the GI Bill after the war, he completed his undergraduate work and got a law degree at Howard in Washington.

Mr. Lomax was divorced from his first wife, Awilda, who survives him. He is also survived by his second wife, Corrine; a daughter, Sharon Elizabeth Elliott; stepchildren David and Shelly Blaemire and Gina Collins; a brother, William; and four grandchildren.

Services will be held Saturday in Florida and at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 3 in the Byfield Room of the Ambassador East Hotel, 1301 N. State Parkway, Chicago.